September BAP Attack

Hey Everyone! So, I have started college, which has lead to three of the most extremely fun weeks of my entire life. I love my classes here, and things are going very well, so I am excited to see what the future holds!

I have been keeping up on my stitching, though, thank goodness. Therefore, I have actually managed another finish!!

This is the Legend of Korra piece that I designed. My sister asked if I could make her a new pencil case for school with this pattern, and I happily obliged. And since it was on my list for this year, I got another finish in about 2 weeks! My sister absolutely loves it, and she's the only person in the world with one. I'm so happy, because it has actually gotten quite popular on my Tumblr account. Now if only the creator of the show could see it!

And here is some more progress on the Sleeping Angel. I have all the cross stitches done on this, now I just need to finish the backstitching, beadwork, and specialty stitches. It's almost done!! Yes!

I hope everyone else's stitching is going great! Can't wait to see all of your progress pictures as well!

Until Next Time, 

Teenage Cross Stitcher

Finishes and Apologies: Turtle Trot August

Hi there, everybody! I need to take a moment to apologize for not posting in an extremely long amount of time. Here I was, saying that I was going to keep up with my blog this year and always post for the SALs, but I guess end of the year madness just got to me. With my graduation and college activities during the summer, I would plan on posting, and then realize that my deadline had passed every month. But this month, I have done it! I've got everything photographed and ready to go. I have definitely been keeping up with my stitching, and I have a lot of progress pics. So without further ado, here's my work from the last few months:

 

Finish: I have finished my Colour Pop Sampler! I was so happy to get this one done. It looks so pretty and I love the color palette a lot. I think this took a couple of months. In any case, I'm proud of it, and I plan on getting it framed soon.

Legend of Korra Pixel People: This is the project I am working on right now. I expect to have it done by tomorrow. I'm going to make it into a pencil case for my sister, and she's super excited to get it. This was a bit of a harder stitch because it was a pattern I had made, so I was working out all the kinks and problems as I went along, which led to a lot of replacement colors and adjustments. Still, I love how it is turning out.

 



Sleeping Angel: Slowly but surely. This is my little project I like to whittle away at when I have time. It's coming along though! I think I'm taking this to college to work on during my free time. It's simple enough that I don't have to lug everything around, and pretty enough to keep my interested.

 



 

Mariner's Light: A little more progress on this. I have the whole tower done, and some of the roof, but this is another project I like to work on when I have time or get bored of other pieces. I like to bounce around a lot on cross stitch projects, so I keep them all in my (not so) classy organizing system.

That's all for now! I promise I'll be better about updating! Keep stitching everyone!

Until next time,

Teenage Cross Stitcher

Turtle Trot April

It's time for the April Turtle Trot check in! I have some lovely progress to show on two pieces, and one finish. First off, a new piece: Colour Pop Sampler.

 

 

 

This one was from Cross Stitcher Magazine. I decided to start it because I was getting restless working on some of my other projects. All the supplies were there, and it was just too tempting to not start. I love the vibrant colors on this piece, and it is simple enough that it goes quickly and easily.

 

Next, here is a bit more of Sleeping Angel. I now have all the white stitched and am working on finishing the dark green. This is a fun piece to work on, and linen is so easy to count on now, so I'm not spending twenty minutes trying to find my place.

 

 

And finally, my finish! I'm done with Poppy Pair! My sister gave me this in August for my birthday and I started it in September. For the last 6 months I've been working on it off and on (mostly off) and I finally have it done. Even the French knots, which I am proud to report, are no longer the threat I used to believe them to be.

 

I'm so happy with the final result.

 

That's all for this month! Happy Stitching everyone.

 

Until next time,

 

Teenage Cross Stitcher

ORT JAR #4

Hey everyone! Time for the TUSAL ORT Jar check in.

 

My lovely little jar is getting fuller all the time! This is such a fun way to keep track of my stitching progress, and I don't leave all those little ends lying everywhere, which my parents hate. The jar is filling up with a multitude of pretty colors from all the Turtle Trot Projects I have going on. Can't wait to see what the next check in brings.

 

 

Until next time,

 

Teenage Cross Stitcher

Spring Break Update

 Hi everyone!
I just realized, I never really show work other than my Turtle Trot pieces. So here is one of my many, many lovely pieces that I start and stop on constantly.

 

This is my Geisha Beauty piece from Dimensions Gold Collection. I started working on it about a year ago. I was still in the beginning stages of my cross stitch obsession, so I got the kit from Michael's in an attempt to get something small that would be a quick stitch. I had no idea that the Gold Collection mini kits would be so detailed. Really, I only work on this one a little bit at a time, but I do love it.

 

Here is another view of the piece, this time with the pattern in the corner. See all those different colored highlights? That is the result of losing a ton of markers over the years.

 

 

Until next time,

 

Teenage Cross Stitcher

Turtle Trot March

Hey there, fellow stitchers! I have some great progress on a couple of my pieces and one finish! I really honed in on three pieces, so there are only three progress pictures to post, but I'm still very proud of the work I did this month.

 

First things first: Poppy Pair. I have finished the half stitching on this one and have started the backstitching. I don't think I am going to stitch the words that go in the background, though. They don't actually say anything, and everyone I have asked thinks it would look fine without them. Really glad to be almost done with this one.

 

 

Mariner's Light: I am having too much fun working on this piece. There's a lot of detail, but at the same time, it's a small piece, so I feel like it is going pretty fast. This is a fun one to tackle if I have a lot of time and I want to watch a bit of TV in the background.

 

 

Finally, I have my first 2014 finish! I finished Tall Flowers two weeks ago, and I am so happy with how it looks. This one was pretty easy to do, and it is such a pretty pattern. I really like Just Nan patterns right now. I think I'll go out and buy myself another one soon. I'm not sure what I will do with this one. I'll probably frame it soon, but for now it goes with my other finished stitchwork (which believe me is a very small pile.)

 

That's it for my Turtle Trot pieces this month! I hope to have a lot more done by April, and hopefully I can have Poppy Pair finished by then.

 

Until next time,

Teenage Cross Stitcher

Pixel Me

Hi everybody! I've been working on little stitches on the side lately, and one quick piece I've done is a pixel version of a superhero I created. I think I'll be making this one into a bookmark, seeing as I usually just put the book down pages down, which is really bad for them. Besides, I really wanted to get a piece done quickly I could feel productive. Still working on my Turtle Trot pieces on the side, and those are coming along quite well, and you'll get to see the progress on them on the 10th.

Until next time,
Teenage Cross Stitcher

ORT JAR #3

Happy first day of March! I can't believe this year is going by so fast already. Here's my next ORT jar update. Stitching has been going very well lately. I've already finished two pieces and am working like crazy on my other ones. Luckily, all the rainy days we've been having lately in California lend themselves well to relaxing and cross stitching. More pictures soon on that!

My ORT jar has been getting filled up nicely lately. There have been pieces of thread from my cross stitching and embroidery projects, so a lot has been going in there. Even better, it's more of a rainbow of colors now, so the jar looks very pretty. I'm excited to see it filled up!

Until next time,
Teenage Cross Stitcher

TURTLE TROT FEBRUARY

This month was really stressful in terms of college applications, and stitching time was a luxury that had to be woken up at 4:00 in the morning for. Still, I managed to get work done on a few of my WIPs. So, without further ado, here they are:

 

I got a start on my Sleeping Angel pattern, which is very fun to work on. I've already gone out and bought beading needles for this one, and right now, it's sort of on the backburner. I don't normally sew on linen, so this is a lot of fun

 

I have moved on to the half stitches in Poppy Pair, and then it's just the backstitching and French knots! Yay!

 

I started my Birch Tree Birds kit while I was sick with a cold, and I got a section of a tree done in about 2 days. I love this one, and I love using my new q-snap frame on it.

 

This is the project I am currently putting most of my effort into. I absolutely love this one so much. It is very easy to stitch, and I can take it with me everywhere I go, so I am getting a lot of work done on it at school and after school. The goal is to have this one done in the next two weeks!

 

 

That's all for this check in, but I promise I'll do plenty more stitching for next month!

 

See you then,

 

Teenage Cross Stitcher

TUSAL Post #2

*Cues music* Look at my jar, isn't it neat? Wouldn't you think my ...cross stitching's... uhhh...complete?

 

 

 

 

Little Mermaid music aside, here is my TUSAL post #2 for my ORT jar. It's got plenty of green in it, and I started adding in some of the other colors from my other WIPs. There's a lot of gray in there right now from my Birch Tree Birds Kit. My jar is turning out so cute, haha. I tote it around everywhere in the house while I stitch.

 

 

Hopefully I'll start posting more regularly after this weekend. I'm in the home stretch of a pile of college applications and paperwork. But after that, I'm free!

Needles and Niceties

Today, I got to visit Needles and Niceties in Upland, California. I've never actually been to a needlework specialty shop, so I was extremely excited to go to one for the first time, especially because I had found one so close to my house.

When I got in there, one of the owners, Robert, asked me if he could help me with anything. I asked him if he could help me get some of the materials for my Tall Flowers Just Nan pattern. I handed him the pattern and he looked it over. He studied it pretty intently for a little bit and then asked me, "Where did you get this?" and I told him how my teacher had a bunch of patterns she hadn't wanted and told me I could take my pick. He grinned and replied, "This came from our shop years ago. See?" he pointed at the little price tag in the corner. "That's my handwriting. But the funny thing is, I don't remember who I sold this one to. And it's a pretty hard pattern to find. This is amazing. Can I show my wife?" He went and showed his wife and then came back and helped me find my materials.

There were so many amazing patterns and accessories and kits I wanted to buy. I wish I had more money. I ended up buying all the floss for Tall Flowers and the cloth, too.

The owners were so nice, they helped me find everything, pointed out some sales to me, and made some small talk. I will definitely be going back there to try to buy some more patterns and kits. It's a really great store. If you live in California, you should check it out!

Turtle Trot SAL

Look at me, trying to bite off more than I can chew. I really want to cross stitch more this year, so I think that joining a stitch along will be good motivation. I decided to join BAP Attack's Turtle Trot. So, without further ado, here are the pieces I am going to get a move on this year.

 

Colour Pop Sampler from Cross Stitcher Magazine

 

Mariner's Light

 

Sleeping Angel by Just Nan

 

Peacock Majesty by Just Nan

 

Tall Flowers by Just Nan

 

Birch Tree Birds

 

Peace on Earth

 

Tiger Chilling; the black-on-black stitching is hard to see in the photo

 

Poppy Pair, which I am almost done with

 

The Kiss of the Sun

 

This Legend of Korra Pattern I designed

 

Merry Christmas Sampler from Cross Stitcher Magazine

 

There is one more piece I am planning on doing. I am designing a pattern to make into either a wall hanging or a pillow for my friend. The pattern will feature characters from the hit anime, Attack on Titan. However, I only recently learned about the exact characters and order she wanted everything in, so the pattern is not designed yet. This work is a lot to do, and I know I will never finish it all by the end of the year, but I hope that this stitch along will help me get a lot more starts and finishes than last year.

 

Lots of love and good luck to everyone participating in this SAL!

HAPPY NEW YEAR ORT JAR #1

I am reviving this blog! I decided that the best way to encourage myself to stitch more would be to join itsdaffycat's TUSAL. So, this is the first ORT of the year, courtesy of my horrible phone camera. The threads are from my Dimensions kit that my sister got for me (Poppy Pair) The stitching on that is coming along quite nicely. I've got all the flowers done, now I need to do the leaves and stems, so there should be a lot of green in there next time.

Some of my stitching projects for this year:

Poppy Pair (Dimensions Kit)
Tiger Chilling (Dimensions Kit)
Mariner's Light (Dimensions Kit)
Colour Pop Sampler (Cross Stitcher Magazine)
Attack on Titan Character Banner (My Own Pattern)
Legend of Korra Character Banner (My Own Pattern)

I'll try my very best to keep on track and keep stitching. A lot of big things happening for me this year. Graduation, 18th birthday, college, and plenty more. Here's to 2014!